


(We Want) The Same Thing

by NympheSama



Series: ♡ Endless Summer: Catalyst Birthdays ♡ [10]
Category: Endless Summer (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Birthday Cake, F/M, Family, Friendship, M/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 18:56:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21462904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NympheSama/pseuds/NympheSama
Summary: Craig's birthday is somewhat soured by a complication in his game planWill Taylor's intervention make or break his friends special day?
Relationships: Craig Hsiao/Zahra Namazi, Grace Hall/Aleister Rourke, Jake McKenzie/Main Character (Endless Summer), Sean Gayle/Michelle Nguyen
Series: ♡ Endless Summer: Catalyst Birthdays ♡ [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1319882
Comments: 9
Kudos: 15
Collections: The Choices Fanfic Collection





	(We Want) The Same Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Hi hi hi
> 
> This has been waiting for posting, so no worries i havent neglected the new fic to hash it out quick!
> 
> Without further ado (cuz i havent slept)
> 
> x My love to you all x

**(We Want) The Same Thing.**

Craig Hsiao was never one to hesitate, he was an all in, or nothing kind of guy; and that suited him just fine. Until the night he had the dream. The dream was not a bad dream, quite the contrary in fact, it was such an intensely  _ good _ dream that he woke to the shocking; and in his opinion, disgusting discovery of tears in his eyes, his heart aching at the distress that it had  _ only _ been a dream. Naturally Craig decided that such an emotional, or rather  _ weak _ reaction was unacceptable; and promptly shoved all knowledge of it as far from his mind as he could. But, as always with such extreme reactions, this only made his dilemma worse.

"Hey Craigslist, how's it going?" Taylor asked one afternoon, plopping himself onto the bench beside his friend at their favourite cafeteria table in Hartfeld college, raising a brow when his friend started and blinked in surprise at him. "Whooooa… you are  _ so _ out of it!" Taylor laughed, grinning as he waved a hand before his friends face playfully. "Late night, huh?" He said knowingly, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively as Craig shook his head and tried to gather his wits.

"Heh, chyeah brah… you know how it is." He replied, forcing an uneasy chuckle and dragging a hand through his hair as he shifted his weight in his seat. "The life of a hero, goes hand in hand with the party life." He said, regaining a small margin of his familiar cocky bravado as he grinned broadly at his friend.

"I'm not sure  _ hero _ is quite the word the rest of the college populous would use, Craig." Aleister said, holding his arm behind Grace's back as he helped her over the bench, before taking his own seat beside her. "Somewhat skilled sportsman, perhaps?" He offered instead, his lips curving into a smirk when Grace swatted his wrist and scowled at him playfully.

"Stop being antagonistic." She scolded, though her eyes glittered with amusement at his behaviour. "Our team never would have made it to the finals without Craig, and I don't see  _ you _ joining the team and winning that for us when the time comes…  _ especially _ not on top of your actual classes." She teased, her cheeks dusting with a blush as Aleister grinned and leaned closer to whisper in her ear.

"One of you losers pass me a bucket, I'm gonna barf." Zahra drawled, ignoring Craig's flinch as she stalked around him to the far side of the table, sitting on the bench opposite him on the far side of the large circular table; the furthest seat she could find from his own. "Don't you two ever make yourselves nauseous?" She sighed, scowling at Diego as he sat in the empty space beside her and smiled at her. "Never mind, don't answer that." She said abruptly, grimacing as she turned to frown at Quinn sitting with Kele on her other side.

"Oh dude," Raj said quietly, sitting beside Taylor and leaning close as he glanced down the table. "Is it just me, or are there some major danger vibes coming from Zahra today?" He asked, as Taylor raised a brow and followed his gaze to where Zahra was sat at the far side of the table, pointedly ignoring everyone as she hunched her shoulders and typed furiously on her phone.

"Huh, I thought she was over the whole 'pretending I don't know you all,' thing…" Taylor hummed, frowning as he clucked his tongue thoughtfully, before slowly rolling his head toward Craig. "Craaaaaig…" he leered slowly, a knowing grin spreading across his face as Craig felt his cheeks warm tellingly, his hands balling against the table. "What did you do?" Taylor asked in a sing song voice, as Craig cleared his throat and turned his head in the other direction; grimacing when his eyes landed on Zahra at the end of the table. "Oh god, don't tell me you asked her for a  _ special _ wake up present or something?" Taylor groaned, shaking his head as Craig choked and blushed furiously. "Dude, just because it's your birthday does  _ not _ mean you can demand fellati-"

" _ Bro! _ " Craig finally hissed, his large hands curled into fists as he swung a glare towards Taylor. "I would never demand anything like that from Z," he hissed quietly, glowering as Taylor grinned smugly and popped a cherry between his teeth. "We are a… a mutual, only if we both wanna kind of- wait, birthday..? Oh…" he said, his fury fading as realisation flooded him, quickly followed by a heavy dose of guilt and horror. "Oh…  _ shit _ , bro… I, I think I might've fucked up…" he muttered, half hoping his friends wouldn't hear the confession; though Taylor's further widening grin told him such a hope was a fruitless endeavour.

"I never would've suspected such a thing." Taylor said innocently, tossing another cherry in his mouth and popping it between his teeth. "Let me guess… she came over early this morning to surprise you, but you had forgotten your own birthday; and we can come back to how  _ un _ -Craig like that is later, by the way…" he said, winking at Craig playfully as he grimaced and lowered his eyes to the table, his further reddening ears the only sign he was still listening. "So, you were a jerk and now she won't talk to you and... you're  _ both  _ too stubborn to fix whatever it was you argued about, because neither of you will  _ ever _ say you're sorry so you can kiss and make up." He said, folding his arms over his chest and raising a brow as he smirked over at Craig smugly.

"Dude…" Raj breathed, his eyes wide as he stared at Taylor, a slow but wide grin forming on his lips as he shook his head lightly. "That was  _ awesome _ !" He gushed, as Taylor preened and snickered beneath the praise.

"Thanks man," he replied, glancing over and offering his palm for a high five which Raj eagerly supplied. "So, Craigslist… what are you gonna do exactly?" He asked, turning back to Craig as he curled his hands around the edge of the table, trying to avoid Taylor's eyes as he raised a brow and lowered his head to try and catch his gaze. "Unless… you're just gonna do nothing and let her leave your sorry ass.  _ Again. _ " He said, his brows rising in surprise when Craig's only response was to tighten his grip on the table. "Oh,  _ wow _ ."

Craig grit his teeth, forcing his eyes to rise and examine Zahra carefully, noticing the stiffness in her shoulders which implied her being deep in thought, the tight line of her lips the only giveaway of her turbulent emotions within. He exhaled a shaky breath as his fists slowly uncurled, a nervous hollowness settling in his gut as he contemplated Taylor’s warning. "I didn't… I mean, Z goes through phases bro… she's probably just, uh-" he paused, biting his lip awkwardly as he ran his hands over his face and sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping dejectedly as he reluctantly accepted the enormity of his mistake. "Alright, so I… I might've maybe, screwed up slightly.” He admitted, looking over at Zahra sadly, his heart sinking at the thought of losing her; his eyes widening at the whisper of his dream, tugging at the edge of his thoughts.

“Hey man, what’s going on?” Sean asked as he approached, dropping into a chair opposite Raj and clapping his hand on his friends shoulder, his brow creased in obvious concern as Michelle hovered beside him, her expression mirroring her boyfriends as she frowned with worry. “What’d you screw up?” He continued to ask, as Michelle set her hand over Sean’s and squeezed reassuringly.

“Whatever it is, we’ll try to help.” She said, exchanging a glance with her boyfriend when Craig shook his head vehemently. “C’mon, it can’t be worse than that time when you were caught without your clothes on the-”

“Craig.” Taylor called softly, his serious tone drawing the football stars attention and silencing Michelle’s worried offers of help, as he met Craig's uncertain gaze confidently. "We can only help if you let us." He said, spreading his palms and raising his brows as Craig grimaced and looked down at his lap, toying with the edge of his denim jacket distractedly.

Finally the noiret sighed, flashing a brief glance in Zahra's direction before reluctantly rolling his eyes toward Taylor. "I guess… I guess, I was just…" he tried, hesitating and licking his lips as he struggled to find the words to explain; briefly debating on making up a less personal lie, before dismissing the idea as quickly, not wanting to risk Taylor's prediction that Zahra would indeed leave him. "I wasn't even mad or, or upset or anything… I had this totally crazy dream right?" He said, running a hand through his short hair as he shook his head. "But it was fine, yeah? I was fine… 'til I saw Z; and this dumb dream was suddenly back in my head and I… I just freaked." He admitted, looking down at the table in shame as Taylor sighed and turned his eyes to the ceiling, rolling his head back on his shoulders in obvious exasperation.

"What was the dream about?" Michelle asked curiously, squeezing Craig's shoulder gently as she raised a brow at Taylor's snort of amusement. "And you had better stop being such an ass, or I'm gonna close off some of your pressure points again." She warned, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously.

Taylor extended both palms toward Michelle in placation, fighting to contain a grin as he lowered his eyes to the table and snickered quietly to himself. "Okay, I yield, Princess." He said, clearing his throat as he glanced sideways at Craig with a smirk and raised a brow. "So, Craig… what  _ was _ your dream about?" He repeated, though the laughter in his tone revealed his continued amusement.

"It was just, stuff… ya know." Craig said awkwardly, shifting his weight on the bench as Taylor's lips twitched and he clearly fought to contain his laughter. "Urgh, bro you are  _ so _ annoying!" Craig complained, sighing as he averted his eyes for a heartbeats pause, before returning his gaze to the amused redhead. "Fine! It was all crap from La Huerta, alright?!" He bit out, scowling over at Taylor and barely managing to keep his voice lowered in his frustration.

"Shocking." Taylor quipped flatly, popping another cherry between his teeth as he waved his brows suggestively. "Any  _ particular _ crap from the island?" He asked innocently, carefully arranging his face into a feigned expression of curiosity. He yelped and ducked his head a moment later however, when Estela swatted him around the back of the head, before moving to take a seat at the opposite end of the table with Zahra and her unwanted entourage. “Love you too, Estela!” He called after her, pouting as he rubbed the back of his head and turned towards Craig, Sean and Michelle. “What was  _ that _ for?” He whined, jutting out his lower lip sulkily as he frowned at them.

“Because you’re an ass.” Michelle said lightly, a bright smile on her face as Sean tried to hide a grin behind his hand. “And I believe it’s also just how she shows affection to you… it’s a constant learning process with her.” The blonde added thoughtfully, peering across the table at Estela curiously. “Hmm, anyway…” She said a moment later, returning her gaze to the group as she flicked Craig’s ear sharply. “C’mon already, get to the sharing so we can get to the helping. Unless you want me to test out some of the more painful points of massage I’ve been learning lately…” She said briskly, smiling brightly as she flexed her fingers warningly.

Craig felt the blood trickling from his face at the threat, exhaling a deep breath as he looked down at the table moodily. “It…” he hesitated, clearing his throat as he glanced around the table and grimaced. “It was about… about the thing with Jake and Taylor.” He said evasively, gesturing roughly toward his friend and gritting his teeth, as his cheeks warmed with embarrassment.

Taylor raised a brow, exchanging a glance with the rest of their nearby friends as he tried and failed to contain a wide grin. “Okay… I think you’re gonna have to elaborate a little there, buddy.” The redhead finally snickered, covering his mouth with a hand in an attempt to hide his obvious smirk. “I mean, there are a  _ lot  _ of things involving me and Jake that went on while we were on La Huerta.” He added, waving his brows suggestively, before grunting at Michelle after she swatted him round the ear. “What is it with you girls, always beating me up?” He demanded with a petulant pout, sniffing as he pointedly averted his eyes from the blonde; though his lips twitched with the hints of a playful grin.

“Don’t you make me come over there, Taylor McKenzie or  _ so  _ help me-” Michelle began, trailing off only when Sean gently captured her hand with his own, kissing her wrist gently despite his own grin at Taylor’s behaviour. He was about to play mediator between the two, when Craig sighed heavily; drawing their small groups attention to him.

“That’s just it, guys.” He said, shaking his head as he doodled nonsensical patterns on the table with his finger. He risked a glance at Taylor, to find him looking genuinely thoughtful and serious. He exhaled a deep breath, clearing his throat and hesitating, before pushing to make himself elaborate. “The whole thing… with the handfasting. The w-wedding and… and all that.” He explained awkwardly, surprised by the depth of understanding in Taylor’s gaze, when his dark blue eye met Craig’s gaze intently.

“Wait,” Raj snickered, leaning forward to brace his forearms on the table as he grinned broadly. “You’re telling us that, you had a nightmare about Taylor’s wedding… and that’s why you were a dick to Zahra?” He asked, laughing as Craig glowered at him irritably. “Oh, dude… you are  _ so  _ screwed man.” He snorted, shaking his head in commiseration as he and Sean exchanged high fives.

“Uh, first of all; my wedding was magical and I take great offense at your suggestion that it would induce any kind of nightmare,  _ sir. _ ” Taylor said haughtily, scowling at both Sean and Raj as they continued to laugh at the idea. “Second of all… that’s not what he meant, anyway.” He added, his eyes flitting back to Craig as his ears burned.

Michelle frowned, swatting both Sean and Raj without thought, as she glanced between Taylor and Craig. “What do you mean by that?” She asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes when Taylor’s only response was to look up and raise a brow at her. “You seem to know an awful lot about what’s happened… you’re way too smug for all this to be something you’re not involved in somehow.” She said slowly, frowning when Taylor merely winked at her, before ignoring her accusations entirely and looking back at Craig.

“Naw, Meech… this is all on me.” Craig sighed, shaking his head as he licked his lips and tried to find the right words to explain. “It was  _ about  _ the wedding, but… it wasn’t  _ the _ wedding.” He said slowly, narrowing his eyes as he tried to focus his thoughts clearly. “It… it wasn’t Jake and Taylor stood up there, doing all that… stuff.” He said awkwardly, his shoulders tensing and hunching as he lowered his eyes to his lap and toyed with the edge of his jacket some more. “It was… it was-”

“What our dear, young commitment-phobe is trying to say,” Taylor interrupted, reaching over with his hand to squeeze Craig’s fidgeting fingers gently. “Is that he dreamt of the ceremony; being performed for himself and Zahra.” He said, the corner of his lip hitching into a soft grin as Craig broke out in a petulant scowl.

“Brah, how the hell do you know what I-” he began to demand, shaking his head and sighing as Taylor reached up to flick his nose with his finger.

“I’m magic.” The redhead said dismissively, though Craig continued to frown at him when his lips remained curved into a secretive grin. He was about to prod the redhead for further information, when Michelle’s hand left his shoulder and he instead looked up at the blonde curiously.

“So, wait… you’re telling us that you were an ass because, what?” She asked, frowning at Craig disapprovingly. “You were scared of Zahra wanting to get married one day?” She scoffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure you and Zahra share the opinion that marriage is for ‘losers’ and other such lesser beings than yourselves.” She huffed, shaking her head as she looked across the table to where Zahra was still engrossed in her phone. “I think you’re gonna have some major ass kissing to do to make this up to her though… that’s a seriously pissed off Zahra.” She mused, as Craig grimaced and shifted his weight uncomfortably.

“You shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover Princess,” Taylor said as he got to his feet, stretching as he flashed the blonde a grin. “You should know that better than anyone.” He added, winking pointedly as he stepped over the bench and sauntered away.

“Wait, dude, what’re you-” Craig hissed, his eyes widening as Taylor strolled around the table toward Zahra. “Oh man, I can’t look.” He groaned, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes to block out the image of Taylor leaning over Zahra’s shoulder to whisper in her ear. “Man, I’m dead. I’m dead, I’m dead… this isn’t real ‘cause I’m dead.” He muttered, his entire face burning as he waited for the inevitable outburst of Zahra’s incredulous laughter.

“Oh, stop being such a big baby.” Michelle scolded, swatting Craig around the back of the head and forcing him to remove his hands from his eyes, pouting up at her pathetically, before noticing her distracted frown and following her gaze across the table. His brows rose in surprise when he caught sight of Taylor, crouched beside Zahra with his arms folded over his knees, grinning broadly as Zahra scowled and wagged her finger at him threateningly.

“What _ is _ he doing?” Sean mused quietly, a curious frown on his face as he watched Taylor laugh at Zahra’s apparent scolding, the redhead blatantly ignoring whatever warning she was giving him as he sprang to his feet and waved a hand at her dismissively. “And more to the point, what the hell is he actually  _ saying  _ to her to make her so pissed off?” He wondered aloud, as Taylor ducked around Zahra to speak with Diego quickly, his lips still curved into a secretive grin as his friend began to laugh behind his hand and nodded indiscreetly.

“Doodlejumps, I don’t think we’re ever gonna understand Taylor…” Raj chuckled, watching with the others as Taylor stuffed his hands into his pockets and sauntered back around the table, while Diego quickly darted around Zahra to whisper to Quinn, who in turn murmured quickly in Kele’s ear before she and Diego began to giggle and move around the table together.

Craig grit his teeth and balled his hands into fists, certain his trust had been so blatantly and unrepentantly betrayed. He shoved to his feet and stepped around the bench as Taylor approached, raising a brow curiously as Craig scowled at him. “What the hell, bro? Why’d you go and tell-” he demanded, though he was cut off by Taylor’s snort of laughter.

“Oh please, have a little faith Craig. I didn’t tell her anything… but  _ you _ should.” He said, stepping around his friend to move back to his seat. “Dreams are sometimes more meaningful than you think, they come from things we long for deep in our hearts and can’t admit to ourselves while we’re awake.” He said, glancing back over his shoulder as Craig scoffed and shook his head irritably, his temper too vivid to believe Taylor’s flimsy explanation.

“Dude, we all saw you over there  _ laughing _ at me!” He bit out, his heart aching as Taylor stopped in his tracks, as Craig risked a glance toward Zahra; who’s eyes flit nervously between himself and Taylor. “Z keeps looking over now like I’m some kind of… of-” he tried to explain, frustration welling in himself as Taylor’s words finally broke through his ire, his brows rising in surprise and disbelief as he scoffed with laughter. “Dude, you think I  _ want  _ to get… oh, bro nah; not me, pfft… no way!” He babbled, as Taylor finally turned, a frown creasing his brow as he stalked back to Craig.

“ _ Hey, hey, hey, hey! _ ” He said viciously, jabbing Craig in the chest with his finger to emphasize his words. “ _ Hey, hey, hey, hey! _ ” He repeated, as Quinn, Diego and Grace leapt to their feet and joined him.

Craig felt the blood drain from his face, glancing around the cafeteria as the other college students all looked over at their table curiously, their attention grabbed by Taylor’s outburst. “Oh shit, brah no! Look, I’m sorry! Just please, _ don’t-” _ he pleaded, though Taylor merely sniffed and turned away, stepping onto the bench and climbing up onto the table; leaving Craig to cradle his head in his hands in exasperation.

“Dude, does Taylor just walk around with a musical library constant playing in his head or something?” Raj asked curiously, smiling at their friends antics as he waved his arms over his head with a giddy grin.

“I think so man,” Sean agreed distractedly, laughing at the redhead himself as Grace whisked past him to whisper to Michelle briefly, before darting off around the table again; leaving the blonde to stifle a giggle by biting her lip. “And I think he’s just getting started with this one so, we might as well go along with it… let’s face it, it’s worse when we fight it.” He said, shrugging his shoulder and grinning as Michelle kissed his cheek and dashed after Grace.

Taylor shuffled atop the table and grinned around the curious cafeteria, as Quinn, Diego, Michelle and Grace twirled around the table; drawing a reluctant Aleister and Estela into the dance as Kele stepped back from the table and began to play a rough acoustic tune on his guitar. “ _ Here is my case, we've got no time to waste… ‘Cause we want the same thing.”  _ Taylor sang as the tune lulled, smirking down at Craig as he reluctantly raised his head, his ears burning with embarrassment as his friends danced around their table. “ _ We're fighting a war, but we don't know what for… 'Cause we want the same thing. _ “ The redhead insisted, winking at Craig as he slowly raised a finger to point at him. “ _ I know we're different now,”  _ Taylor crooned, tipping his head as his mischievous gaze softened sympathetically. “ _ Different as night and day…” _ he sang, as Craig's embarrassment faded, knocked aside by the sudden understanding that Taylor was referring to the ways they had all changed since their time on La Huerta. " _ But still I want you… I just want you to stay!" _ Taylor cheered a lopsided grin curving his lips as he seemed to sense Craig's comprehension of his meaning. " _ I want to take this chance, I want to be with you…"  _ Taylor sang, dragging a hand across his shoulders as he half turned away to face Zahra. " _ 'Cause what you're looking for, I am looking for too…" _ he teased, winking at Craig as he threw his arms wide and twirled atop the table.

_ "We dream the same drean, we want the same thing!"  _ Taylor cheered, swinging his hips and rolling his shoulders provocatively. " _ Oooh!"  _ He cried as Michelle, Aleister and Grace stepped up onto the bench on one side of the table; with Quinn, Diego and Estela mirroring them on the opposite side. " _ And all that we need is to see it together..!"  _ Taylor chanted, grinning as his friends joined in the chorus as they spun carefully along the bench. " _ Oooh! Oooh! _ " They sang together, as Taylor beamed and winked at Craig smugly. " _ We dream the same dream, we want the same thing!"  _ Taylor repeated, throwing his arm in the air as he twirled and rolled his hips. " _ For now, for love, forever, amen!" _ He sang, barely suppressing a laugh as his friends cheered and danced around him.

_ "I look in your eyes and I know deep inside that we want the same thing…" _ Taylor drawled toward Zahra, as Craig frowned, glancing between Zahra's murderous scowl and Taylor's indifferent grin. " _ Breaking the chains that just keep us in shame, 'cause we want the same thing!"  _ The redhead continued, turning in a slow circle as he waved his arm above his head. " _ No matter what we say, no matter what we do!"  _ He cried, throwing his arm out to point at Craig abruptly, grinning as he leaned toward him and waved his hips in time to Kele's guitar strums. " _ Beyond the battlelines, baby we know what's true…" _ he crooned, winking at Craig as he lifted both arms over his head and grinned around the table at his friends.

_ "We dream the same dream, we want the same thing!"  _ Taylor sang, weaving his head back and forth and smiling as some of the other college students began to rise from their own tables curiously. " _ Oooh!" _ He cheered, grinning at Quinn and Diego as they threw their arms in the air and cheered with him. " _ And all that we need is to see it together..!" _ Taylor cried, winking at Craig before twirling quickly away across the table. " _ Oooh! Oooh! _ " He chanted, bouncing his hips suggestively as he smirked around the crowd. " _ We dream the same dream, we want the same thing!" _ He cried, swinging his head back and forth across his shoulders. " _ For now! For love! Forever! Amen!" _ He cried, throwing Craig a pointed look before rolling his head back and leaving his friends to repeat the chorus around him.

" _ We dream the same dream, we want the same thing!" _ The group cheered, twirling carefully along the bench as Taylor arched and rolled his body seductively, moaning a gentle note over his friends. " _ Aaaaah!" _ He crooned, running his hands over his chest as he tilted his face to the ceiling. " _ Aaa-aaaah, aaa-aah… _ " he sighed, rolling his hips as he closed his eyes and slowly lifted his arms over his head. " _ Aaaah…" _ he began to sing soothingly, before snapping his eyes open and pouting around the crowd, bouncing his hips at the abrupt shift in tempo and twirling around with his arms spread wide. _ "We want the same thing now, baby!" _ He cried, before drawing his arms close to his sides, shuffling to the music as he swung his hips in wide arcs and grinned around his friends and the converging crowd around their table.

“Hey Drax,” Craig whirled in surprise at the sound of an amused voice behind him, his brows rising when he found Jake gesturing towards the spectacle of their friends dancing on the table. “Mind tellin’ me why my husband’s dancin’ on a table, showin’ his ass off to this bunch of assholes?” He asked, tipping his head towards Taylor’s antics as he laughed and danced with a smug grin.

“Jake!” Craig exclaimed, shaking his head to try and dispel the shock of the pilot’s unexpected appearance. “I thought you were deployed ‘til next week, brah?” He said, frowning as Jake rolled his eyes and snorted with amusement.

“I weren’t about to miss ya big day, especially knowin’ all the crap  _ he _ went through organisin’ ya party tonight.” Jake scoffed, tipping his chin to where Taylor was rolling his hips provocatively. “Now put that on hold for a moment; and let’s get back to this bunch of cretin’s eyein’ up what’s mine.” He added, pointing toward the crowd forming around Taylor’s table.

“Oh, uh…” Craig felt his ears burn, running his hand over the back of his neck awkwardly as he debated how to explain. Finally he bit his lip, glancing over at Jake as he watched his husband dance with exasperated amusement. “Jake, man…” he asked hesitantly, his cheeks warming as Jake turned towards him with a raised brow. “Do you, I mean… do  _ you  _ think dreams are really stuff we want? Like, deep… deep down?” He asked, gritting his teeth tightly when Jake began to snort with laughter.

“Ah, so that’s what it is.” He huffed with amusement, running his hand through his hair as he eyed Craig thoughtfully. “Yeah, I do.” He said, his cerulean gaze softening as he tilted his chin towards his husband. “It’s how I figured out what I really wanted, back when we were trapped on La Huerta… what I really wanted for  _ us _ .” He said, grinning lopsidedly as he returned his eyes to his husband and their friends and gestured towards them. “Ya oughta get over there, ya know? Can’t have an epiphany when ya missin’ ya own show.” He said, throwing Craig a brief wink before discreetly slipping around the crowd to sneak closer to their group of friends.

Craig frowned, watching as Taylor switched his arms and pointed to Grace, Diego and Quinn in quick succession. “ _ Hey! Hey! Hey!” _ They each cheered, as Taylor smirked and then proceeded to point to Estela, Aleister and Michelle just as quickly, switching his arms quickly to point to them on either side of the table. “ _ Hey! Hey! Hey!” _ The second trio chorused, as Craig slowly approached, his lips undeniably hitching into a grin when he saw Zahra on the opposite side of the table; reluctantly grinning at their friends herself.

“ _ We dream the same dream, we want the same thing! _ ” Taylor cried, slamming his feet into a wide stance as he offered his hand to Craig, a smile on his lips as he rolled his eyes and accepted, his other hand falling into Raj’s beside him. “ _ Ooooh!”  _ Taylor crooned as Craig watched Zahra take Taylor’s other hand, joining with Michelle on her other side as Taylor broke out in a devious grin. “ _ And all that we need is to see it together! _ ” He cried, tugging sharply on Craig and Zahra’s hands, as Craig and Michelle released them both and instead pushed them towards the table. Craig hissed as his knees collided with the table, lifting his head to scowl at Taylor; only for the expression to abruptly be swept aside by awe, finding himself looking up at Zahra with her hand in his own. 

“ _ Ooooh! Ooooh!”  _ Taylor chanted, twirling away from the pair with a wicked grin and throwing his arms in the air with the rest of their friends.  _ “We dream the same dream, we want the same thing!” _ Taylor cheered, winking at the stunned pair as he began to swing his hips and strut around the edge of the table smugly, while Raj and Sean banged on two large overturned lunch boxes like enormous drums. “ _ Ooooh! _ ” He chanted, shuffling forward as Craig’s jaw dropped, his eyes locked onto the delicate blush on Zahra’s cheeks as she stared down at him and bit her lip in uncharacteristic shyness. “ _ For now! For love! Forever! Amen!” _ He cried, spinning around the edge of the table as Estela and Diego tapped forks to glasses with varying amounts of water in; creating a melodious bell like jingle which blended perfectly with Kele’s guitar as well as Sean and Raj’s makeshift drums.

“So  _ this _ is what ya get up to when ya go to college, huh?” Jake drawled, drawing Taylor’s attention as he whirled with a gasp and searched the crowd, his friends continuing to sing as others from the crowd began to tentatively join in. “Honestly, I can’t leave ya alone for a damn minute, can I? Startin’ to think I’m gonna have to just quit flyin’ so I can keep an eye on ya.” The pilot snickered, stepping forward and smirking at his husband.

“Jake!” Taylor cried in disbelief, his eyes lighting with joy as he ran to the edge of the table nearest his husband and flung himself from the surface as Craig and Zahra watched with distracted amusement.

“Aw, hell-” Jake sighed, wrapping his arms around Taylor as they collided in a hard kiss. “ _ Oof _ !” He huffed, as Taylor locked his legs around his husbands waist and they fell back into the crowd, disappearing amid a wall of bodies as Craig and Zahra both snorted with laughter.

Craig looked back up at Zahra, his heart lightening as he thought back to the day he’d been Taylor’s best man; recalling the joy and awe with which they’d just reunited. “Z,” he called quietly, ignoring their friends dancing and singing on the bench around them as Aleister drew Grace into his arms and began to twirl her around the room in a series of dizzying pirouettes. “S-so… I was thinking, maybe…” he paused, swallowing heavily as Zahra returned her widening eyes to him, a smile ghosting at the corners of her lips as he continued to hesitate.

“Hey… how ‘bout we get married, dork?” Zahra asked abruptly, as Craig blinked in surprise, before breaking out in a bemused frown. “You remember that uh, off day I had? Last month? I had this dream…” Zahra began to explain, trailing off as Craig broke out in a relieved grin.

He rushed to his feet, his hands finding her face and cupping her cheeks with carefully controlled excitement, as he drew her into a deep kiss. “I’m down, baby.” He murmured as he pulled away, shaking his head as Zahra melted into his embrace. “You told Taylor, didn’t you?” He asked, grinning when Zahra blinked and hesitantly nodded. “Heh, guess we dreamed the same dream.... eventually.” He said, laughing when her eyes widened in realisation, before she leaned up on her toes and kissed him passionately, ignoring their friends and the crowds around them as they savoured their own reunion; and looked forward to a future which neither had anticipated alone, but both eagerly awaited  _ together. _

**Author's Note:**

> ♡ HAPPY BIRTHDAY CRAIG ♡


End file.
